Never Alone – Part 1

I can hear the pulsing sound of the crickets, my eyes are flooded with the verdure of the trees, and my nose appreciates the freshness of the country air. I am no longer in my city abode. No longer am I inundated with the hustle and bustle of passengers on the train, compassed by concrete mountains, or intoxicated by the miasma of city life. But, I am also no longer with my mother, a stone throw away from my church or a drive away from my close friends. Here I am upstate New York for medical training, seemingly alone. Here I am planted in an unfamiliar place without the mother I cling to. I felt like the disciples after Jesus’ ascension: recognizing that a work needed to be done, but missing the One who commissioned them to do the work. I felt alone.

But, during my morning devotion, God lovingly spoke to me through Ellen White’s The Ministry of Healing:

Circumstances may separate friends; the restless waters of the wide sea may roll between us and them. But no circumstances, no distance can separate us from the Saviour. Wherever we may be, He is at our right hand, to support, maintain, uphold and cheer (72.2).

As Jesus is seen amongst the seven golden candlesticks (Revelation 1:13, 20), which represent the church throughout the ages, Jesus is with us. And not only is Jesus present, but He is what we need Him to be in every circumstance. For the children of Israel, He was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). For Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael, Jesus was the fourth Man in the furnace who preserved them from the flames (Daniel 3:25). For the woman caught in the act of adultery, Jesus was the One who set her free from sin and her enemies’ accusations (John 8:1-11). In fact, even while Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples slumbering instead of supplicating for Him, “there appeared an angel unto [Jesus] from heaven, strengthening [H]im” (Luke 22:43). And though the multitudes He taught and healed forsook Him at the cross, Jesus’ mother and aunt, Mary the wife of Cleophas, Mary Magdalene and John His beloved disciple stood by His cross (John 19:25, 26).

We must accept that while the child of God must make an individual decision to serve God, He will never leave us alone in fulfilling that resolution. When man forsakes us, God comes Himself. This is a principle that God established from the genesis of this world (Genesis 1:18). He will never leave His child alone.

Stay tuned as we continue to explore this principle and discuss the implications therein.

-Thank You Jesus!

-Amen!